Ages (Civ6)
Ages are a feature added to Civilization VI in the Rise and Fall expansion pack. They are reminiscent of the old Golden Age mechanics from previous Civilization titles, but are greatly expanded and intertwined with the new Loyalty mechanics. There are now four distinct Ages (Normal, Golden, Dark and Heroic), each with its own gameplay effects, and instead of them changing only occasionally (as was in Civilization V), Ages now accompany your civilization throughout its history - from the dawn of time to the end of times. Will you remain in a Normal Age, rise to a Golden Age, or fall into a Dark Age? This will depend on what significant feats your civilization performs at any moment. Game Eras and Ages Civilization VI: Rise and Fall introduces the concept of a Game Era: a general era valid for the whole world, and not only for individual players. While this may sound similar to the World Eras in Civilization V: Brave New World, its gameplay effect here is quite different (for example, there are no Ideologies in Civilization VI), although individual eras still exist and their effects remain relevant. For example, Roads will upgrade for each civilization individually as soon as they reach their next individual era, while city-state quests will now be updated upon starting a new world Era, instead of when entering the next individual era. Still, the major factor determining when the world will enter the next era remains individual progression of civilizations. The faster they progress, the faster will the next World Era start. And when this happens, all civilizations will enter a new Age which reflects the Era score they collected in the previous World Era. Note that all civilizations start the game in a Normal Age in the Ancient world Era. Era Score While technological and social progress remains the means to progress towards the next 'individual' era, the brand new Era Score is the way you progress towards the next Age: a score which reflects the major achievements a civilization has managed since the last World Era ended, achievements which now bear the fanciful name "Historic Moments". Many types of game events may turn into Historic Moments - for example, establishing contacts with a Tribal Village, discovering a new Natural Wonder, or building your civilization's unique unit for the first time. At the same time, it's interesting to note that some of these events are only considered "historic" within a certain World Era! For example, finding a Tribal Village may be important enough in the Ancient Era, but it won't matter much later! Every Historic Moment adds 1 or more points to your Era Score. Whenever the new World Era starts your current Era Score is compared with two thresholds for this era, the Dark Age and the Golden Age thresholds: * If you're below the Dark Age threshold, you will enter a Dark Age. * If you're between the Dark Age and the Golden Age threshold, you will continue in a Normal Age, which is also your starting Age. * If you've passed the Golden Age threshold, prepare for a time of great advancements and achievements for your civilization! Your Era Score is always visible as a bar circling the End Turn button in the lower right corner of the game interface. Additional details about your current Age, Era score and some other information may be found by pressing a new button at the top right corner of the screen. Dedications Another mark of the new Ages system, a Dedication is chosen by each civilization each time the world enters a new era. Dedications are broad focuses which you choose for your people during the next era, with the main goal of increasing your Era Score. You may choose Culture-oriented, Construction-oriented, and various other kinds of Dedications, and actions which satisfy this orientation will then earn additional Era points beyond their basic functionality. For example, you may get Era points each time you construct a particular type of building, trigger a Eureka moment or convert a city to your religion. If you choose your Dedication well, anticipating the direction in which you intend to develop, you stand a good chance of earning a significant extra score for your next Age! Golden Age Dedications earn additional, even more powerful bonuses. For example, you may get to Purchase Civilian units with - something normally impossible, even with Religious Beliefs! Types of Ages Normal Age This is, as the name suggests, the most common Age - when your people are neither inspired nor despairing. Typically it is earned when you get 12 Era points; however, for each Golden Age you had, this threshold increases by 5, and for each Dark Age, it decreases by 5. Also, each city you have at the start of the age increases this threshold by 1. Each Citizen exerts the normal amount of Loyalty pressure (1), and Dedications have only their basic bonuses. Golden Age leads, Korea could find itself in a Golden Age...]] A Golden Age is earned when you get 12 or more Era points above Dark Age threshold. Your people are inspired by the great achievements of your civilization in the past Era, and are especially dedicated to your nation, both ensuring that your cities will stay in the empire, and that foreign cities will be tempted to join you. Each Citizen exerts 1.5 points of Loyalty pressure, and Dedications earn special powerful bonuses. Note that while you're in a Golden Age, it will be more difficult to earn a Normal or Golden Age in the subsequent Era - their thresholds increase. Dark Age A Dark Age happens when you fail to gather enough Era points to pass the Dark Age threshold. This is a time that tests your subjects' Loyalty and honor - they lose faith in your leadership and are more easily tempted to defect to other nations (meaning that their Loyalty falls to 0.5 per Citizen). You will have to take extra steps to ensure this doesn't happen, and that your empire doesn't fall apart under the weight of your failures as its leader. Dark Ages are trying times, but they are also times of opportunities. First, you gain access to special Dark Age Policy Cards, which can help you weather the storm (albeit at a price). Second, the next Dark Age threshold is lowered, making it easier to achieve at least a Normal Age in the next Era. Third, if you surpass expectations and actually manage to fill the Golden Age meter for the next Era, you will gain a Heroic Age! Heroic Age A Heroic Age is a proof of (and reward for) the resilience and industriousness of your civilization in overcoming the challenges of a Dark Age. It is earned when you fill the Golden Age meter while in a Dark Age (which is actually easier, since the thresholds are lower). When moving to the next Era, instead of receiving one Golden Age Dedication bonus, you receive three! Trivia Here's the lead designer Anton Strenger on the subject:The original text of the page was found here https://www.civilization.com/news/entries/announcing-civilization-vi-rise-and-fall Golden and Dark Ages are among the new events that can shift the course of your game’s history. They are significant, but temporary, changes to a civilization that last for an Era. They will open up new opportunities for players to change their strategies, and change the state of the game between the player and their rivals. Having a Golden Age affords huge bonuses to Loyalty and other game systems, but makes earning future Golden Ages slightly more difficult. Having a Dark Age hurts Loyalty in your cities and makes you vulnerable, but gives you an opportunity to earn a future Golden Age more easily. It also allows the use of special Dark Age policies and opens the door for an even more powerful Heroic Age. Think of it this way: While a Golden Age provides one Dedication bonus (a powerful Golden Age effect), being in a Heroic Age lets the player earn three Dedication bonuses (making it sort of a “triple” Golden Age). In the Civilization VI base game, we have the idea of a “player era” – how far a player has advanced on their tech or civics tree. In this expansion, systems are very much tied to the idea of the “game era,” which is determined by individual player advancement and a few other behind-the-scenes adjustments. Think of these game eras like chapters in a book. Each has its own arc, and its own small ending, but leaves you wanting to discover the rest of the story by continuing to the next chapter. When you enter a new game era you may earn a Golden Age or a Dark Age. Which one you get is determined by your Era Score in the previous game era, a score that is increased by fulfilling certain objectives. So while your neighbor may have been in a Golden Age last era, they may enter a Dark Age this era, opening up an opportunity for you to change your strategy. The key effect of Golden and Dark Ages: they change the Loyalty of a player’s cities. As Ages change and weak spots are exposed in empires, cities can declare independence and even change hands to new owners. Videos File:Civilization VI- Rise and Fall - Devs Play Mongolia & Netherlands (Ages Deep Dive)|''Civilization VI'' lead designer Ed Beach in a video that showcases Mongolia, the Netherlands, and the Ages system in Civilization VI: Rise and Fall in 2017 References Category:Game concepts (Civ6) Category:Civilization VI: Rise and Fall